Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association

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SNCT Update – 4 February 2026

SNCT Pay Reopener Clause (2026–2027) – What Members Need to Know

As part of the two-year SNCT pay agreement (covering 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027), a reopener clause for 2026-2027 has been agreed in recognition of the Teachers’ Side position on pay restoration.

  • Inflation measure: Consumer Price Index (CPI)
  • Trigger point: If the average CPI for the 12 months to April 2026 is exceeds 3.25% by a margin of 0.5 percentage point or greater [i.e. greater than 3.75%] a review of pay will begin.
  • Deadline: If the reopener is not triggered by 30 April 2026, the second year of the pay award will automatically go ahead and be implemented from 1 August 2026.
  • Further detail: SNCT paper 26/107 – Reopener Clause

Job Sizing Toolkit Changes – Implementation Delayed

The SNCT has confirmed changes following recommendations from the Job Sizing Review Group. These were due to take effect from 1 February 2026, but implementation has now been delayed until 1 April 2026 to allow for further training and finalisation of guidance.

Key Changes

1. Faculties in Secondary Schools

  • Addresses the impact of faculty structures and department mergers on job sizing.
  • Principal Teacher posts must not exceed 196 points.
  • Where a post sizes above this, the remit must be reviewed and reduced.

2. Guidance and Pastoral Support Roles

  • SNCT recognises that workload and caseload pressures have not been adequately reflected.
  • Guidance/pastoral posts will be equalised within each school, recognising shared responsibility.
  • Caseload limits:
    • Maximum: 200 pupils
    • Ideal: no more than 180
  • The option to select an “over 200” caseload will be removed from the toolkit.

Further detail is set out in the official SNCT letter  The SSTA will be arranging webinars to support members in these roles — details to follow.

Current membership offers:

  • All NQTs: Free membership until January 2027
  • All new members: 50% off subscriptions for the first 12 months
  • Part-time teachers: 50% reduced subscription (unique to SSTA)

Joining is quick and easy: www.ssta.org.uk/join

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